scholarly journals Rural South Africans’ rehabilitation experiences: Case studies from the Northern Cape Province

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Surona Visagie ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Northern Cape

Background: Rehabilitation is often challenging in South Africa, but South Africans living in remote rural settings might experience unique challenges. Objective: This article interrogates issues of access to rehabilitation in a selected sample from rural South Africa through case studies. Method: This qualitative study utilised a case study design. Eight case studies were done in a purposively sampled rural town in the Northern Cape Province. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Data were analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: The case study participants were not integrated into the community. They experienced higher levels of disability than one would expect from their impairments. Their impairments were not modified. No retraining of function was implemented. Early intervention and childhood development activities were not provided. Participants were not linked with self-help or peer support groups. Provision of assistive devices was challenged. Environmental barriers aggravated the situation. Conclusion: We theorise that one-on-one therapy is not the solution to the rehabilitation needs of persons with disabilities in remote, rural settings. We recommend a move to community-based rehabilitation and transdisciplinary teamwork supported by family members, community health workers and peer mentors. Therapists are ideally situated to explore the feasibility of such programmes and to pilot them in various communities.

scholarly journals Progress towards the 2020 targets for HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral treatment in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh F. Johnson ◽  
Rob E. Dorrington ◽  
Haroon Moolla
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Antiretroviral Treatment ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Hiv Diagnosis ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
North West ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Northern Cape

Background: The UNAIDS targets for 2020 are to achieve a 90% rate of diagnosis in HIVpositive individuals, to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 90% of HIV-diagnosed individuals and to achieve virological suppression in 90% of ART patients.Objectives: To assess South Africa’s progress towards the 2020 targets and variations in performance by province.Methods: A mathematical model was fitted to HIV data for each of South Africa’s provinces, and for the country as a whole. Numbers of HIV tests performed in each province were estimated from routine data over the 2002–2015 period, and numbers of patients receiving ART in each province were estimated by fitting models to reported public and private ART enrolment statistics.Results: By the middle of 2015, 85.5% (95% CI: 84.5% – 86.5%) of HIV-positive South African adults had been diagnosed, with little variation between provinces. However, only 56.9% (95% CI: 55.3% – 58.7%) of HIV-diagnosed adults were on ART, with this proportion varying between 50.8% in North West and 72.7% in Northern Cape. In addition, 78.4% of adults on ART were virally suppressed, with rates ranging from 69.7% in Limpopo to 85.9% in Western Cape. Overall, 3.39 million (95% CI: 3.26–3.52 million) South Africans were on ART by mid- 2015, equivalent to 48.6% (95% CI: 46.0% – 51.2%) of the HIV-positive population. ART coverage varied between 43.0% in Gauteng and 63.0% in Northern Cape.Conclusion: Although South Africa is well on its way to reaching the 90% HIV diagnosis target, most provinces face challenges in reaching the remaining two 90% targets.

‘HUNTERS-WITH-SHEEP’: THE |XAM BUSHMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA BETWEEN PASTORALISM AND FORAGING

Africa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark McGranaghan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Domesticated Animals ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Hunting And Gathering ◽  
Northern Cape

ABSTRACTThe ability of hunting and gathering populations to adopt herding forms of subsistence constitutes the crux of a long-standing debate in southern African archaeological and anthropological scholarship concerning the spread of livestock to the subcontinent. This article takes as a detailed case study the subsistence strategies of the nineteenth-century ǀXam Bushmen of the Northern Cape (South Africa), extracted from a transcription of the entirety of the Bleek–Lloyd Archive. It focuses on ǀXam characterization of and relationships with the various domesticated species that shared their Karoo landscape, and asks whether these relationships differ markedly from their conceptions of non-domesticated animals. Turning to the wider context of hunter-gatherer engagements with domesticates, the article concludes by proposing that, for the ǀXam, domesticated fauna were part of a spectrum of differentiated resources, and did not entail an interaction with a wholly alien suite of new demands.

scholarly journals Task shifting to improve the provision of integrated chronic care: realist evaluation of a lay health worker intervention in rural South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e001084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Limbani ◽  
Margaret Thorogood ◽  
Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé ◽  
Chodziwadziwa Kabudula ◽  
Jane Goudge
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Worker ◽  
Chronic Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Task Shifting ◽  
Realist Evaluation ◽  
Lay Health Workers ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Lay Health Worker ◽  
Rural South Africa

IntroductionTask shifting is a potential solution to the shortage of healthcare personnel in low/middle-income countries, but contextual factors often dilute its effectiveness. We report on a task shifting intervention using lay health workers to support clinic staff in providing chronic disease care in rural South Africa, where the HIV epidemic and an ageing population have increased demand for care.MethodsWe conducted a realist evaluation in a cluster randomised controlled trial. We conducted observations in clinics, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and patient exit interviews, and wrote weekly diaries to collect data.ResultsAll clinic managers had to cope with an increasing but variable patient load and unplanned staff shortages, insufficient space, poorly functioning equipment and erratic supply of drugs. These conditions inevitably generated tension among staff. Lay health workers relieved the staff of some of their tasks and improved care for patients, but in some cases the presence of the lay health worker generated conflict with other staff. Where managers were able to respond to the changing circumstances, and to contain tension among staff, facilities were better able to meet patient needs. This required facility managers to be flexible, consultative and willing to act on suggestions, sometimes from junior staff and patients. While all facilities experienced an erratic supply of drugs and poorly maintained equipment, facilities where there was effective management, teamwork and sufficient space had better chronic care processes and a higher proportion of patients attending on their appointed day.ConclusionLay health workers can be valuable members of a clinic team, and an important resource for managing increasing patient demand in primary healthcare. Task shifting will only be effective if clinic managers respond to the constantly changing system and contain conflict between staff. Strengthening facility-level management and leadership skills is a priority.Trial registration numberISRCTN12128227.

scholarly journals First-Year Students’ Views on Prescribed Book for Translation Practice: A Case Study of a South African University of Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Mnguni
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
First Year ◽  
Language Practice ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Translation Practice ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Official Languages

Translation as a field of study is fairly new in South Africa because before 1994, the official languages were English and Afrikaans and everybody was expected to know and use those languages. Consequently, there is not much about translation practice that is written by South African authors. Following this, translation books from outside South Africa are generally used and prescribed, thus stifling inherent experiences, since little is written by the South Africans themselves.  A total number of 46 language practice students participated in this quantitative study. This study explored challenges encountered by first year language practice students, when using their prescribed book, at the Central University of Technology, Welkom Campus. Results indicated that students were not benefitting maximally from using the prescribed book, which is by any standard an excellent book. The socio-cultural experiences of the students were missing, thus prevent students’ from mastering the subject content better. From the data collected, it is recommended, amongst other recommendations, that a bias towards books reflecting South African experiences be prioritized as well as also allowing students to participate in making book choices.

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